A colleague of mine, Manfred Criegee-Rieck, pointed out that Google has launched a new website called Knol. A “knol” is defined there as “a unit of knowledge.” Experts are invited to contribute content by “writing a knol” on any topics they wish.
It’s a Wikipedia-like effort, but with experts-only as authors. I don’t see it as a direct competitor to Wikipedia, because Wikipedia can simply reach into Knol to tap into its knowledge, just as it does every other valuable resource. By definition, an encyclopedia encompasses all knowledge available, so there could well develop a symbiotic relationship between Knol and Wikipedia.
And since Knol is part of Google, Read the rest of this entry »
